Should I hire an Atty for Reinstatement w/ Voluntary Surrender For Diversion 6yrs ago

[lifesaver_x2]

Hi All! I'm new to the forum and I posted on another thread, but thought I would start a new one and hopefully get some honest suggestions and advice. I was given a "sentence" of probation for 3 years in MO six years ago for diversion (NO criminal charges were ever filed against me at all, no court cases, nothing....I was very lucky!), which I fully admitted to, it was actually a God Send that I did, my life is totally different now, I have been drug free since the incident in 2003. I immediately stopped practicing as an RN and went through an MD addiction specialist to get clean...at the time, I was living in another state, which is where I was temporarily licensed to work, waiting on perm, which is why MO ended up doing the discipline case. I never went through any official rehab, not public anyway, everything was handled through a private physician, which might I add was VERY expensive!

Any who, After it taking MO over a year to review and make their decisions, I was a rock bottom and had zero funds to adhere to their insane requirements of weekly UA's (my expense of course), ongoing psych evals, etc, as I said before, I did all of this already initially, but MO counted NONE of it..I guess because it was done before I was officially charged. SO, I decided to surrender my license. I moved to another state with my family and simply haven't worked or tried to work in the health care field since. I was a high school Bio/Chem/Physics teacher for three years, got my real estate license and worked hot and heavy in real estate for two years. When I surrendered, the MO Atty Gen said I could reapply for my license in five years, which is what my contract said for probation, either I can do their three year stips, or surrender and reapply in five years. My question is, I want to reapply, but I'm not sure how to answer the some of the questions on the examination (have to retake boards because it's been so many years, which is no problem), they ask if I've been disciplined in the past five years, and I haven't, but I was before that. I'm wondering will they reinstate me after I take my boards since I waited out the time and didn't do their probation, or will they require I do the probationary terms as before? I surrendered because I couldn't afford to do them in the first place...I am hoping I can reapply free and clear since I waited out my time, but I'm a bit confused with the wording of the application. I did contact the atty gen in MO again and he sent me the application for examination and told me to fill it out and send it in...that's all he said...and I had ask if I needed to send letters, info, etc...but he didn't say, just fill out the app basically.

Which leads me to my last question, should I hire an attorney? I've read so many threads on here today saying to do so, now I'm afraid to apply without hiring one. I have debated on even reapplying, as I was a very good nurse and very looked up to in my community. Unfortunately, after suffering from migraines since the 3rd grade, after becoming a nurse and finding what I thought was a great physician to treat me, she ended up giving me rx's for morphine injections at home and it was downhill from there. I have literally cried trying to bring myself to fill out the application for the exam because I am so ashamed, but nursing is where my heart is. My therapist here, who I see just to have someone to vent life to (nothing to do with my past addiction), told me if I was that afraid I should just pursue my secondary ed degree and teach because I enjoyed it and the hours were good, ha...I told her it wasn't that easy because nursing was my passion...Sorry for the novel everyone....I've NEVER opened up to anyone else about this besides my immediate family and addiction physician....I didn't mean to ramble. Any advice or info is greatly appreciated.

[lifesaver_x2]

Anyone have any thoughts or info?

Txs!

[all_over_again]

If you can afford an attorney, that's obviously the best way to go.

However, I recently had a hearing scheduled and did not have an attorney (I simply did not have $3500). The judge's office called me at home and asked for a phone conference. When she called, she said she noticed that I planned to go without representation and she wanted to make sure I got a fair shake. She then proceeded to tell me very specifically what she wanted me to bring with me to the official hearing, which she then rescheduled.

As everyone here will tell you, the board isn't your friend. That doesn't mean they are out to ruin your life, either.

I was out of nursing for 3 and 1/2 years and I have to complete nearly everything people with more recent abuse do - weekly ua's, NA meetings (I'm hoping to get the frequency decreased), etc. Yeah, it sucks because I have been clean and happy without their *help* (I use the word loosely and with great sarcasm ). It sucks worse to work for $9 an hour when I spent 6 years in college.

[jackstem]

Wow all-over-again, you were exceptionally lucky to have a judge that motivated to "do the right thing" (although I am sure there are many who would say the judge was "crazy" for doing such a thing). Made me smile to hear that.

That is a one in a million occurrence, IMHO. You might not need representation if you have an experienced attorney who knows the board members well and has a good handle on how they handle these kinds of cases. Just as all doctors are not the same, neither are license defense attorneys. The one I consult with as a recovery advisor will many times schedule a consult to review and advise a client on how to proceed based on all available information. If she sees a complicated case she will advise the nurse on how to proceed but then may offer to deduct the consultation fee if the nurse chooses to retain her for representation. You might ask if that's a possibility when considering an attorney.

I've been working with this attorney for almost 2 years now and it's so frustrating to see a nurse who is trying to do all the right things get "screwed" by technicalities they are totally unaware of, or may think those issues don't apply to their case.

Also, the attorney general and state board of nursing have no obligation to advise you how to proceed. I just finished working with a nurse from one state who wanted to reactivate a license in Ohio. I was adamant about obtaining a lawyer since I know how difficult dealing with the Ohio board can be at times. After several other nurses also recommended an attorney the nurse did obtain a consult. Prior to the consult this nurse contacted the Ohio BON to inquire about the process and if there would be a problem. The board staff told the nurse it would be no big deal and to go ahead and apply. After consulting with an attorney this nurse discovered there would be several issues which would undoubtedly prevent them from receiving an unrestricted license, and possibly result in a flat out denial. Denial of licensure for reasons "related to professional practice or conduct" are reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank.

As I heard throughout my nursing and anesthesia training...when in doubt, check it out. The cost of a consultation or representation could be well worth the $$ if it prevents unanticipated consequences in the state you're working in or applying to, and very possibly any other state where you may have reason to seek licensure in the future.

Contact the American Association of Nurse Attorneys for a possible referral (www.taana.org).

Good luck!

Jack

[EquinimityRN]

This is my experience and opinion with the MO state board only.

I was disciplined for diversion of narcotics for a period of 5 years. I received no criminal consequences from this and this was a first offense. I did consult with 2 separate nurse attorneys prior to meeting with the board but in the end did not retain council. I do not regret this action. MO does not have PNAP (although we are working on it) and I had no way to avoid what was coming to me whether I had an attorney or not.

Three years into my probation I petitioned the board for a reduction of 3 years to 5 years. I did this on my own without legal counsel or representation. I simply wrote the board a letter outlining my recovery and such and provided supporting documentation.

The first thing to keep in mind with any 'administrative' agency is that they have only one purpose and that is to protect the public. They have no other interest in you other than as it relates to the public.

Second, they have broad discretion. While they do follow the law they also set their own rules.

Third, they are a government agency and as such they are political. Due to this political nature many of their decisions may seem erratic at times depending on who is in charge at any given election cycle. The first rule of thumb in politics is CYA.

Fourth, most state boards are overloaded with administrative cases. From a strictly human and work perspective they would prefer to have as little contact with you and me as possible as it is a drain on their resources.

Fifth, what is an attorney going to do for you that you cannot do for yourself? In some cases this might be a lot in others it might be nothing at all.

My sense is that regardless of whether or not you obtain an attorney you will have to go through the probation that you avoided initially. This is based on my experience talking with nurses in recovery in the state of MO. We have a group that meets 2 times per month and I have been attending for 3 years.

The last thing to take into account is how important it is to you. You have stated that 'Nursing is your passion'. That's a pretty strong statement. Given your strong feelings you might want to consider consulting an attorney after all. I would highly recommend consulting with one that is familiar with the State Board of Nursing in MO and has dealt with them before. If you are going for it you might as well go all in and give it your best effort.

My personal opinion regarding the benefit of retaining counsel for dealings with the board is of the political nature not the legal issues. Lawyers know lawyers and politicians. Many of them have undergraduate degrees in political science. Many of them attend the same seminars and serve on inter-related boards.

I applaud your effort in taking up this challenge and wish you the best.:yeah:

[lifesaver_x2]

Thank you soooo very much everyone for your replies! After reading them all, I did consult an attorney, who "says", that according to my initial "probationary contract", he thinks that I will be able to be reinstated without the probationary period...this surprises me after all that I have read here and I am putting NO stock in it because I know boards can be quite insane! He "said" that MO probationary contracts are pretty much generalized and if all nurses realized the wording says that you can either do their probationary terms and be reinstated or be off the grid for your five years and re-take boards and move on...myself, I don't read it this way...so I am scared to death and completely confused. This is most bothersome to me because I am typically a very confident and well-informed individual...not in this case...now I'm more confused than ever!! HELP!!!

8-)

[caliotter3]

You should hire an attorney experienced in this area. You want to make certain you approach this with everything you can muster to get positive results. Don't take chances.